So glad Montreal is done. The way Anderson is playing the Pens had better hope Vokoun can match or they will not survive the Sens. Of course I am assuming they take the Islanders who appear almost done.

ukcanuck wrote:Are you saying the time out wasn't meant as fuck you to the Habs? Cause it most definitely was a big fuck you to the whole be church and its gonna cost McLean you watch.

Don't light a fire under the other bench whatever you do.

Did you listen to MacLean's explanation for the timeout?

Did you see the way they lined up for the faceoff after the timeout?

The Canadiens had gotten really chippy, they'd gotten blown out of the rink on the scoreboard and were trying to send a message with their fists. MacLean already has a shortened bench because of the penalties assessed to both teams, he doesn't want his team engaging in anything stupid in the last minute. He calls a timeout and drills that home and then sets up with 3 men across the blueline and just 2 up for the faceoff.

It may have come across as a fuck you to the Habs, but I don't think that was its primary intent. Nobody but MacLean will ever know though.

I'm sorry what were the circumstances again? 6-1 dying minutes of a penalty filled debacle (236 minutes PiMs) and Maclown wants a time out with a powerplay to remind his boys from doing something stupid???You're buying that? I doubt you'ld be be so understanding if it was you on the opposite bench.

The guy's a jackass and he's giving the Habs plenty of fuel. watch that be the turning point in the series.

I'm very impressed with this team. This is a team that is big, fast, skilled and most importantly, has the ability to turn it up a notch during playoff season.

I'm beginning to think our 2010/11 season was an anomaly and as many have said, a career year for many of our players. The Sedins have plateaued and have proven that they do NOT and will never have the ability to kick it up a notch, Kesler's injuries have pretty much made him a shadow of his former self, Edler's lost in the forest looking for a way out and the jury is still out on Schneider.

They have been counting on Backes (29), Oshies (26), Perron (24) and Berglund (24) to step up and be those good first liners but it is looking like they are complimentary players rather than guys you build around though Berglund and Perron may yet develop some more but they need to develop in a hurry.

The Blues have Pietrangelo to build around but not much else. They need Tarasenko, Schwartz and Rattie to lead them moving forward but those guys are still a ways away from being consistent threats (heck Rattie isn't even pro yet!).

So I'm wondering what sort of re-tooling the Blues will be doing. RFAs Pietrangelo and Stewart will be looking for raises on there $3 mil a year deals. Berglund is up for renewal and will likely command more than the $2.25 mil he's making now. I wonder if they move him (big bodied center for the canucks?). On the back end they will have a decent core of Piet, Bouw, Shattemkirk, Polak and Jackman but that Bouwmeester contract will handcuff them a bit next season given the RFAs (Bouwmeester was also not too impressive in the playoffs). It may even cost them Shattenkirk.

Running rough numbers it appears just to ice the same team they iced this season will eat up the cap space they have and they might not be able to replace McDonald even. And that's if they are a cap team when they really haven't been. They have an internal budget that is typically lower than the cap.

mathonwy wrote: The Sedins have plateaued and have proven that they do NOT and will never have the ability to kick it up a notch,

Sure except for that Blackhawk series where they were literally 70% of the canucks offense. Or the San Jose series where an injured Henrik dominated the Sharks. Or last year where Henrik did all that anyone really could for the team.

It has very little to do with Henrik or Daniel (not saying they couldn't play better because this year they could have). It has far more to do with the team simply not being able to win a series unless the twins don't just play solid but dominate, or Kesler dominates or Luongo dominates. It's nice to have but the beauty about the Kings right now is that no one is "dominating" they just have a solid lineup top to bottom and that entire lineup can raise their game above regular season level. Hell, poke fun at Dustin Penner all you want in the regular season but you can never doubt his effort come playoff time and when that guy is trying he is effective. Even look at the Hawks. Kane, Sharp and Hossa have been good but they are point a game guys. Nothing dominant. But they have Bickell with 3 goals, Frolik with a couple etc. It's the support guys that make the difference. For the canucks those support guys have scored 17 goals in 150 playoff games or something stupid. That's what isn't good enough.

tantalum wrote:It will be interesting to see what the Blues do this summer.

They have been counting on Backes (29), Oshies (26), Perron (24) and Berglund (24) to step up and be those good first liners but it is looking like they are complimentary players rather than guys you build around though Berglund and Perron may yet develop some more but they need to develop in a hurry.

The Blues have Pietrangelo to build around but not much else. They need Tarasenko, Schwartz and Rattie to lead them moving forward but those guys are still a ways away from being consistent threats (heck Rattie isn't even pro yet!).

So I'm wondering what sort of re-tooling the Blues will be doing. RFAs Pietrangelo and Stewart will be looking for raises on there $3 mil a year deals. Berglund is up for renewal and will likely command more than the $2.25 mil he's making now. I wonder if they move him (big bodied center for the canucks?). On the back end they will have a decent core of Piet, Bouw, Shattemkirk, Polak and Jackman but that Bouwmeester contract will handcuff them a bit next season given the RFAs (Bouwmeester was also not too impressive in the playoffs). It may even cost them Shattenkirk.

Running rough numbers it appears just to ice the same team they iced this season will eat up the cap space they have and they might not be able to replace McDonald even. And that's if they are a cap team when they really haven't been. They have an internal budget that is typically lower than the cap.

Are you thinking what they could trade with us to solve each others problems (if only partially at least ?)